Shock absorbing pod

ABSTRACT

A pod for absorbing shock placed on a load includes a rigid body, a rigid face, and a spring assembly. The face is positioned above the body for attachment to the underside of a load placed on the face. The spring assembly connects the body to the face. The spring assembly absorbs shock placed on the load during momentum changes felt by the load during transit or while being placed on a support surface. The pod may also be incorporated into a pallet assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to shock absorbing mechanismsand, more particularly, to a shock absorbing pod and to the deviceswhich incorporate such pods.

2. Background Art

Shock absorbing mechanisms absorb the shock experienced by a load whenthe load is moved from a position above ground and placed onto theground or other stationary support. Shock absorbing mechanisms alsoabsorb the shock experienced by a load when the load is in transit.

Such shock absorbing mechanisms include foam cylinders having a topadhesive surface. In operation, an operator places the foam cylinders ona stable position such as the ground. The operator then places a loadonto the foam cylinders such that the foam cylinders are interposedbetween the load and the ground. For instance, the load may be boxes ofsoda cans or fruit which the operator places onto the foam cylinders.

The top surfaces of the foam cylinders stick to the underside of theload as the weight of the load compresses the foam cylinders. Anoperator maneuvers a fork lift or the like to insert the forks under theload between channels defined by the foam cylinders. The fork lift thenmoves the load with the attached foam cylinders off of the ground. Oncethe fork lift lifts the load and the attached foam cylinders off of theground, the foam cylinders return to their natural uncompressed state asthe fork lift carries the entire weight of the load. The fork lift thentransports the load with the attached foam cylinders above the ground toa desired location. At the desired location, the fork lift lowers theload to place the load onto the ground. As the fork lift lowers the loadonto the ground, the foam cylinders compress under the weight of theload and absorb the shock experienced by the load as the load is beingplaced onto the ground.

Typically, the load with the attached foam cylinders are placed within avehicle for transit to another destination. During transit, the vehicleand the load may experience bumpiness as a result of the vehicletraversing over bumpy roads and the like. The bumpiness may subject ashock on the load which would cause the load to experience movement.

However, a problem associated with foam cylinders is that the shockabsorbing characteristics are not ideal because of material properties.Foam cylinders have little durability resulting in decreased shockabsorbing capability over use. The lack of durability may cause the foamcylinders to be non-reusable. As a result, the foam cylinders may notabsorb the entire shock experienced by the load when the load is beingplaced onto the ground or when the load is in transit. Consequently, theload may feel shock which could damage the load.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shockabsorbing pod having improved shock absorbing characteristics.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shockabsorbing pod having shock absorbing spring assemblies for absorbing theshock experienced by a load when the load is experiencing momentum suchas when the load is being placed from a position above ground onto theground or when the load is in transit.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a one pieceshock absorbing pod made from injection molded plastic to slow the rateof deceleration of a load for absorbing the shock experienced by theload.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a shockabsorbing pod having a rigid face for attachment to the underside of aload and a rigid body portion connected together by at least one springassembly which is operable for absorbing the shock experienced by aload.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide apallet assembly having a deck member and a shock absorbing pod forabsorbing the shock experienced by a load.

In carrying out the above objects and other objects, the presentinvention provides a pod arranged to support a load and absorb shockexperienced by the load. The pod includes a rigid lower member and arigid upper member. The upper member is positioned apart from the lowermember for attachment to the underside of a load placed on the uppermember. At least one spring member connects the lower and upper members.The at least one spring member absorbs shock experienced by the load.

Further, in carrying out the above objects and other objects, thepresent invention provides a pallet assembly arranged to support a loadand absorb shock experienced by the load. The pallet assembly includes adeck member and an integral pod attached to one side of the deck memberto form a unitary construction. The pod includes a rigid lower member, arigid upper member, and at least one spring member. The upper member ispositioned apart from the lower member and is attached to the one sideof the deck member. The at least one spring member connects the lowerand upper members and absorbs shock experienced by a load beingsupported by the deck member.

The advantages associated with the present invention are numerous. Forexample, the pod and pallet assembly in accordance with the presentinvention slow sudden momentum changes subjected on a load in order toabsorb shock experienced by the load when the load is being transportedin a vehicle or when the load is being placed onto a support surface.

The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of thepresent invention are readily apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates shock absorbing pods attached to the underside of aload shown in phantom in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a shock absorbing pod inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cut-away perspective view of the shock absorbingpod;

FIG. 4 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the shock absorbing pod;

FIG. 5 illustrates a top plan view of the shock absorbing pod;

FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom plan view of the shock absorbing pod;

FIG. 7 illustrates a side elevational view of the shock absorbing pod;

FIG. 8A illustrates a cross-sectional view of the shock absorbing podlooking along the line 8—8 shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the shock absorbing podwith flexed spring assemblies looking along the line 8—8 shown in FIG.5;

FIG. 8C illustrates a blown up view of the circled area shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 illustrates a pallet assembly in accordance with the presentinvention having shock absorbing pods attached to the underside of apallet deck with a load being supported by the pallet assembly;

FIG. 10 illustrates a pallet assembly in accordance with an alternativeembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a shock absorbing pod in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring now to FIG. 1, shock absorbing pods 10 in accordance with thepresent invention are shown. In FIG. 1, pods 10 are attached to anunderside 12 of a load 14 shown in phantom. Load 14 and pods 10 may besupported above a support surface such as the ground or a vehicle cargosurface by a device such as a fork lift (not shown). Load 14 and pods 10may also be placed on a support surface such as the ground or a vehiclecargo surface with the pods interposed between the load and the supportsurface. When placed on a support surface pods 10 support the entireweight of load 14 and keep the load from touching the support surface.Load 14 may be any type of load such as a single or multi-levelrectangular array of boxes or a piece of equipment. The boxes mayinclude various types of goods such as soda cans, beer bottles, fruit,and the like.

Each pod 10 generally includes a rigid top member 16 and a rigid bottommember 18 connected by at least one spring member 20. In the embodimentillustrated, each pod 10 includes a substantially flat and rigid topcircular rim surface 16 (attachment face) and a rigid bottom bodyportion 18 (stable base). Load 14 is placed on pods 10 such thatattachment faces 16 contact underside 12 of the load. Attachment faces16 are attached to underside 12 of load 14 and the attachment may be byvarious methods including adhesive, mechanical fasteners, and the like.When load 14 is moved above the ground, pods 10 move with the load asthe load moves because the pods are attached to the underside of theload. When the load is placed onto a support surface, bottom bodyportions 18 of pods 10 contact the support surface such that the podssupport the entire weight of load 14 and keep the load from touching thesupport surface.

As will be described in greater detail below, pods 10 are configured toabsorb the shock placed on load 14 when the load experiences a change inmomentum. Such momentum changes include a momentum change experienced byload 14 when the load is being moved from a position above a supportsurface onto the support surface. Load 14 may also feel momentum changeswhen the load experiences bumpiness during transit while positioned on avehicle cargo surface. Pods 10 function to cushion and absorb the shockplaced on load 14 as a result of momentum changes. For example, pods 10slow the rate of deceleration felt by load 14 when the load is beingplaced onto a support surface or is in transit in order to absorb anypotential shock felt by the load.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, and 8C, various viewsof a pod 10 are shown. Pod 10 is preferably a unitary member formed of athermoplastic or other polymeric material and is preferably formed ofinjection molded components. In addition to top attachment face 16 andbottom body portion 18, pod 10 includes one or a plurality of springassemblies 20. Spring assemblies 20 connect attachment face 16 to bodyportion 18 such that the attachment face is spaced apart from the bottombody portion and extends above and around the bottom body portion. Inthe embodiment illustrated, pod 10 includes eight spring assemblies 20.Windows 22 separate spring assemblies 20 such that the spring assembliesare spaced apart from one another.

Pod 10 (or a group of pods) support the entire weight of load 14 whenthe load is positioned on a support surface with the pod interposedtherebetween. When load 14 being supported by pod 10 experiencesmomentum changes during transit or while being placed onto the supportsurface, spring assemblies 20 of pod 10 flex between rigid topattachment face 16 and rigid bottom body portion 18 in order to cushionand absorb the additional forces caused by the momentum changes. As aresult of absorbing the additional forces, spring assemblies 20 slow anymovements caused by the momentum change to load 14 thereby preventingany potential damage to the load.

The number of spring assemblies 20 and size of windows 22 fine thespring coefficient of pod 10. Accordingly, pod 10 can have differentspring coefficients depending on the projected type and weight of theload that the pod is intended to support.

In the embodiment illustrated, attachment face 16 includes an innercircular circumference defined by an inner rim surface edge 17 and anouter circular circumference defined by an outer rim surface edge 19.Bottom body portion 18 includes an outer circular circumference fined byan outer surface 21 of the bottom body portion. The inner circularcircumference of attachment face 16 is greater than the outer circularcircumference of bottom body portion 18 such that the attachment faceextends around the bottom body portion in a plane parallel to a topsurface 23 of the bottom body portion above the bottom body portion.

Bottom body portion 18 further includes a bottom surface 25. Bottomsurface 25 is in a plane substantially parallel with respect to topsurface 23. Between top and bottom surfaces 23 and 25, bottom bodyportion 18 includes a support unit having a grid of interconnectingsupports 27. Cavities 29 are formed between interconnecting supports 27in order to reduce the overall weight of pod 10. Interconnectingsupports 27 are configured in order to support the outer wall of bottombody portion 18.

As best shown in FIG. 3, spring assemblies 20 are connected at one edge24 to top attachment face 16 and are connected at a second edge 26 tobottom body portion 18. Each spring assembly 20 includes a centralcurvilinear body member 28 extending between top attachment face 16 andbottom body portion 18.

As shown in FIG. 8A, spring assemblies 20 separate attachment face 16and bottom body portion 18 by an uncompressed distance (a) when pod 10is in an uncompressed natural state. Pod 10 is in the uncompressednatural state when load 14 is at rest on pod 10 or the weight of theload on the pod is being supported by an external device such as a forklift.

Referring now to FIGS. 8B and 8C, with continual reference to FIG. 8A,pod 10 in a flexed state is shown. Pod 10 is in the flexed state whenspring assemblies 20 flex in order to absorb momentum changesexperienced by load 14. As shown in FIG. 8B, spring assemblies 20 flexunder the increased force experienced by load 14 caused by momentumchanges. As spring assemblies 20 flex, the spring assemblies separateattachment face 16 and bottom body portion 18 by a compressed distance(b). The compressed distance (b) is smaller than uncompressed distance(a) such that attachment face 16 and bottom body portion 18 are closertogether when spring assemblies 20 flex.

Load 14 can feel an increased force when a fork lift lowers the load andattached pod 10 onto the ground. As load 14 and attached pod 10 areplaced onto the ground, the weight of the load is removed from the forklift and supported by pod 10. Because load 14 is being lowered, the loadmay feel deceleration as pod 10 touches the ground. As described above,spring assemblies 20 flex in order to slow the rate of deceleration feltby load 14 in order to cushion and absorb any shock experienced by theload as pod 10 touches the ground.

Likewise, spring assemblies 20 flex and unflex to absorb momentumchanges felt by load 14 while in transit. For instance, when a vehicletransporting load 14 goes over a bump in the road, load 14 will feel amomentum change. Spring assemblies 20 flex in order to slow the rate ofdeceleration of load 14.

In addition to being attached to underside 12 of load 14, pods 10 may beintegrally formed to a pallet deck or other support piece to form aunitary pallet assembly. Referring now to FIG. 9, a pallet assembly 90in accordance with the present invention is shown. Pallet assembly 90includes a pallet deck 92. The attachment faces of shock absorbing pods94 in accordance with the present invention are attached to an underside96 of pallet deck 92. Pods 94 separate pallet deck 92 from a supportsurface when pallet assembly 90 is placed on the support surface. Palletassembly 90 is formed of a thermoplastic or other polymeric material andis preferably formed of injection molded components. A load 98 such as aplurality of boxes filled with goods may be placed on a top side 100 ofpallet deck 92.

Pods 94 are spaced apart to define a plurality of fork lift tinereceiving channels 102 beneath underside 96 of pallet deck 92. As palletassembly 90 is lowered by the fork lift, pods 94 touch the supportsurface and support the weight of pallet deck 92 and load 98. Asdescribed above, the spring assemblies of pods 94 flex in order toabsorb the shock felt by load 98 as it and pallet assembly 90 are beinglowered onto the support surface.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a pallet assembly 110 in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present invention is shown. Palletassembly 110 generally differs from pallet assembly 90 by including abottom pallet deck 112 in addition to a top pallet deck 114 and shockabsorbing pods 116. The attachment faces of pods 116 are attached to theunderside of top pallet deck 114. The bottom body portions of pods 116are attached to the top side of bottom pallet deck 112. Pallet assembly110 is formed of a thermoplastic or other polymeric material and ispreferably formed of injection molded components. In operation, palletassembly 110 functions similarly to pallet assembly 90 in order toabsorb the shock placed on a load being supported by pallet assembly110. In this embodiment, pods 116 serve as columns between pallet decks112 and 114.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a shock absorbing pod 130 in accordance withan alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown. Pod 130generally differs from pod 10 by including alternative spring assemblies132 in place of spring assemblies 20. Each spring assembly 132 includesan oval spring 134, a top member 136, and a bottom member 138. Topmember 136 of each spring assembly 132 connects oval spring 134 to rigidattachment face 140. Bottom member 138 of each spring assembly 132connects oval spring 134 to rigid bottom body portion 142. Of course,instead of spring assemblies 20 and spring assemblies 132, other springassemblies may be incorporated into pods as described herein.

It is further noted that both pods 10 and pods 130 are nestable with oneanother in order to facilitate storage and shipment of the pods. Thebottom body portion of a first pod fits within the top attachment faceof a second pod to rest on the top surface of the body portion of thesecond pod. This process is repeated such that a plurality of pods arearranged on top of one another in a stack.

While the present invention has been described in conjunction withspecific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intendedto embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fallwithin the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pod arranged to support a load and absorb shockexperienced by the load, the pod comprising: a rigid lower member; arigid upper member positioned apart from the lower member for attachmentto the underside of a load placed on the upper member, the upper memberhaving an opening disposed over the lower member; and at least onespring member disposed about the periphery of the opening of the uppermember, the at least one spring member connecting the lower member tothe upper member, wherein the at least one spring member absorbs shockexperienced by the load.
 2. The pod of claim 1 wherein: the at least onespring member includes a plurality of spring members each separated by awindow.
 3. The pod of claim 2 wherein: the plurality of spring membersand the windows define a spring coefficient.
 4. The pod of claim 1wherein: the upper member, the lower member, and the at least one springmember are a unitary member.
 5. The pod of claim 4 wherein: the uppermember, the lower member, and the at least one spring member are formedof injection molded plastic.
 6. The pod of claim 1 wherein: the uppermember is a circular rim.
 7. The pod of claim 1 wherein: the at leastone spring member is flexibly movable to absorb shock experienced by theload during a momentum change felt by the load.
 8. The pod of claim 1wherein: the at least one spring member is flexibly movable to absorbshock experienced by the load when the load is in transit.
 9. The pod ofclaim 1 wherein: the lower member includes a bottom surface having aplurality of intersecting supports having cavities in between.
 10. Thepod of claim 1 wherein: the upper member has an inner circularcircumference defined by an inner edge of the upper member around theopening of the upper member and the lower member has an outer circularcircumference defined by an outer surface of the lower member, whereinthe inner circular circumference of the upper member is greater than theouter circular circumference of the lower member.
 11. A pallet assemblyarranged to support a load and absorb shock experienced by the load, thepallet assembly comprising: a deck member and an integral pod attachedto one side of the deck member to form a unitary construction, whereinthe pod includes a rigid lower member, a rigid upper member, and atleast one spring member, wherein the upper member is positioned apartfrom the lower member and is attached to the one side of the deckmember, wherein the upper member has an opening disposed over the lowermember, wherein the at least one spring member is disposed about theperiphery of the opening of the upper member, connects the lower memberto the upper member, and absorbs shock experienced by a load beingsupported by the deck member.
 12. The pallet assembly of claim 11wherein: the lower member, the upper member, and the at least one springmember of the pod are a unitary member.
 13. The pallet assembly of claim11 further comprising: a second deck member attached to the underside ofthe lower member.
 14. The pallet assembly of claim 11 wherein: the atleast one pod includes a plurality of pods spaced apart from one anotherto fine channels beneath the one side of the deck member.
 15. The palletassembly of claim 11 wherein: the at least one spring member is flexiblymovable to absorb shock experienced by the load during a momentum changefelt by the load.
 16. The pallet assembly of claim 11 wherein: the atleast one spring member is flexibly movable to absorb shock experiencedby the load when the load is in transit.
 17. A pod arranged to support aload and absorb shock experienced by the load, the pod comprising: abody; a face spaced from the body and oriented to be mounted to theunderside of a load placed on the face; and at least one spring assemblydisposed around the periphery of the body and extending between the bodyand the face, wherein the at least one spring assembly absorbs shockexperienced by the load, wherein the face and the at least one springassembly form a cavity configured to receive a body of a like poddisposed thereabove when arranged in a stacked orientation.
 18. The podof claim 17 wherein: the at least one spring assembly includes acurvilinear spring member.
 19. The pod of claim 17 wherein: the at leastone spring assembly includes an oval spring member.
 20. The pod of claim17 wherein: the at least one spring assembly includes a plurality ofspring assemblies each separated by a window.
 21. The pod of claim 1wherein: the opening of the upper member, the at least one springmember, and a top surface of the lower member form a pocket forreceiving a lower member of a like pod in order for the pod and the likepod to be nestable.
 22. A pod arranged to support a load and absorbshock experienced by the load, the pod comprising: a rigid lower member;a rigid upper member positioned apart from the lower member forattachment to the underside of a load placed on the upper member; and atleast one spring member connecting the lower member to the upper member,wherein the at least one spring member absorbs shock experienced by theload, wherein the upper member, the lower member, and the at least onespring member are integrally formed as a unitary member.
 23. A palletassembly arranged to support a load and absorb shock experienced by theload, the pallet assembly comprising: a deck member and a pod attachedto one side of the deck member, wherein the pod includes a rigid lowermember, a rigid upper member, and at least one spring member, whereinthe upper member is positioned apart from the lower member and isattached to the one side of the deck member, wherein the at least onespring member connects the lower member to the upper member and absorbsshock experienced by a load being supported by the deck member, whereinthe deck member and the lower member, the upper member, and the at leastone spring assembly of the pod are integrally formed to form a unitaryconstruction.